The Good Old Days
by Marauder-In-Disguise
Summary: Derek and JJ share a quiet moment of reflection...set between seasons six and seven.


**A/N – A message from our sponsors…**

**~*~ Profiler's Choice 2011 Fanfic Awards for the Criminal Minds Community ~*~**

**Hosted by ****ilovetvalot ****and ****tonnie2001969**

_It is our pleasure to announce the __Second Annual Profiler's Choice Fanfic Awards__ for the Criminal Minds community! _

_The __nomination ballot__ is now available, and all rules are posted on Chit Chat on Author's Corner forum! Nomination ballots must be received by October 15, 2011 and must be sent to this PM at __Profiler's Choice CM Awards.__ Fics for consideration must have appeared on the CM section of between September 1, 2010 and August 31, 2011 (see rules for full details.)_

_Please read all rules prior to submitting ballots! Please PM at __Profiler's Choice CM Awards__ with any questions._

**Disclaimer – If I owned it, cooking with Papa Rossi would have been a feature a long time ago ;)**

If there was one thing that Derek Morgan had missed in the days since Hotch told them that things would be changing, it was the sense of camaraderie that working as a team created. With Emily and Ashley gone, Hotch on some mission out in the godforsaken desert and Reid on hiatus, his family had suddenly got a whole lot smaller. JJ's return was welcome, but it only filled a fraction of the gap. It was hard with only three profilers and when one of them was essentially a rookie, things became even more difficult. The structure had changed and they were spread thin; Garcia was pulling more and more hours behind the screens, Rossi had offered to take on the bulk of the paperwork and was getting decidedly crankier with every new form he had to fill in, which left Morgan and JJ to do the majority of the travelling, at least until Rossi periodically declared that he'd had enough and needed to get out of the office for a while.

It was exhausting, if Derek was honest with himself, and he genuinely didn't know how much longer they could keep going without burning out. It wasn't all bad, and he knew it; he was getting to know Rossi and JJ better than he ever had before and JJ was getting a plethora of experience in the field, but that didn't mean that he wasn't allowed to miss the old days. He missed them even more when he was drinking alone in the hotel bar.

He and JJ were in Arkansas, on the trail of a four time rapist who dumped his terrified victims naked on the freeway when he was done with them. They were having no luck and Derek had decided they all needed to call it a night, on the pretence that Garcia needed to force Rossi to go home and get some sleep. In reality, it was him who needed a break more than anyone. It was almost a week since he'd last spoken to his mom and nearly two since he'd phoned Reid to check in, so when they got back to the hotel he told JJ he was going to take a shower, phone his mom and go to bed. She nodded, saying something about talking to Will anyway, and smiled her little crooked smile, bidding him goodnight as she let herself into her room. That was the last time he'd seen her; he had called his mom, for a little while, and spoken briefly to Reid but sleep was not forthcoming and so he went to the bar and ordered a beer.

Apart from a text from Garcia to tell him that she'd had to resort to using Strauss as a threat but had finally got Rossi to go home, no one bothered him. He was happy about that, strangely pleased to be able to wallow for a while in his own bad mood and, because one bad thought always leads to another, he found himself thinking about his father. He knew why – the parallels were all there; family disruption, the sickening worry over a parent he could hear in Reid's voice, the fact that he just knew Jack was missing Hotch terribly…it was all there and it was all twisting in his stomach and for a moment he caught himself close to tears. He roughly wiped his face and, lowering his hands, wasn't sure if he was glad to see JJ looking at him or not.

"I thought you were going to bed?" she said good-naturedly, slipping into the seat beside him, "You look exhausted."

"I am," he admitted, signalling the bartender and ordering her a glass of white wine, "I just can't switch off at the moment."

"I know what you mean," she took her wine and sipped it appreciatively, "Now I've talked to Will I don't know what to do with myself."

"How is he? Will?"

"He's fine, I think. Henry's been asking why I'm not home every single day."

"It's got to be rough on both of them, having you away again. Will's a good guy, he'll be okay."

"He is a good guy," JJ smiled, her mind far away for just a few seconds, and Derek couldn't help but notice how much softer her face looked. This was the side of JJ that they weren't allowed to see very often, the one that she kept just for her son and the man she loved so much. If anyone had proved that they could hold down a job like theirs and live a life as well, it was JJ. People envied her, a fact she'd never believe if you told her but Derek had seen how Hotch looked at her sometimes, and how Emily had, before she died. Hell, if he was honest, he envied her too.

"I'm sorry I've been such crappy company these last couple of days," he said, swirling the last inch of his beer and downing it, "It's been tougher than usual, don't you think?"

"To be honest with you, Derek, I'm impressed that we've lasted this long. We're severely under resourced, Garcia works longer than Hotch used to, Rossi's going to kill someone and we're so tired we can't see to solve an open – shut case like this one. It's not fair," she shook her head, the anger in her voice unusual and consuming, "It's just not fair."

"Glad I'm not the only one missing the good ol' days," he drawled, "Speaking of which, I called Reid earlier. He's not doing so well. I think his mom is having a real bad time."

"I wish he'd talk to one of us about it," JJ sighed, "But all he ever talks to me about is Emily. I literally don't know how to help him."

"I think we just have to let him work through it on his own and be there if he decides that he does need us after all. You know Reid, he's not exactly one to share."

"Says you!" JJ smirked, "You've been pretty quiet yourself the last few months."

"I told you, I'm just missing how things used to be. I want everyone back, and I mean everyone."

The last word weighed heavy with regret and Derek saw JJ flinch just a little and immediately felt guilty. She would be missing Emily just as much as he was, possibly even more, and he took her hand. She gripped it tightly, and they sat like that for a moment, alone with their thoughts. Derek looked down and remembered the last time he had held someone's hand; Garcia's, at Emily's funeral. He knew then what he needed to say, because if there was anything the last few months had taught him it was that things unsaid had a way of slowly poisoning you.

"I'm glad you're here, JJ. I don't think I've said that yet."

"I'm glad too," she smiled, squeezing his fingers, "I'd rather be here with you and missing Hotch and Em than on my own. We'll get by, right?"

"We always do, girl. We always do."


End file.
